Railway car construction



March 27, 1956 1 E; CANDLlN, JR 2,739,543

RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 19, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet l J. E. cANDLlN, JR 2,739,543

RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 wwp March 27, 1956 Filed Aug. 19, 1950 March 27, 1956 J. E. CANDLIN, JR

RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 19, 1950 March 27, 1956 L E, CANDLlN, JR 2,739,543

RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 19, 1950 .0, .www

March 27, 1956 J. E. cANDLlN, JR

RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 19, 1950 H LLLA fraz/@@2071 March 27, 1956 J. E. cANDLlN, JR

RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 19, 195o z m F HAHA A Ww .w NAW @HIHJHWHHI .UMH www, .,1|,|,|, .A| .w M E mwbll. HTXX lr l l mf dz. Ll V||I||i|||rrT||Vl QN AH AAWAAA AAAAAAMAAHHW? H| %1 A 1 |A 1x1, E ,W .I,. ,F..II...H.HHWN@UWMWaewmmmmwm N w Aw@ A u @w l. Fille- A United States Patent O RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION James E. Candlin, Jr., Chicago, Ill., assignor to Pullman- Standard Car Manufacturing Company, Chicago, lil., a corporation of Delaware Application August 19, 1950, Serial No. 180,381

S Claims. (Cl. 10S-422) This invention relates primarily to railway box cars but is applicable also to other types of railway cars and has for its principal object the p'rovision of an improved or stronger freight car floor supporting structure.

An important object of the invention is the provision of oor supporting members for use in a railway freight car adapted to extend transversely of thel car continuously between the side sills at intervals throughout substantially the major portion of the length of the car, with longitudinal stringers intermediate the side sill-s connecting all of the oor supporting members and having rigidifying crossbearers at spaced intervals whereby to provide a strongly integrated underframe structure in which the iloor boards are adapted directly to be supported and secured thereby to become a reinforced part of the whole.

A novel feature of the invention embraces a particular means of securing the oor boards to the supporting members involving a bent fastener disposed in the supporting members and adapted to be straightened to penetrate the tloor boards and thereby fasten the boards to the supporting members.

A further object of the invention contemplates an arrangement of longitudinal stringers associated with the floor supporting members whereby between the car bolsters and beyond, the stringers are disposed beneath the supporting members, but in the areas of the bolster, the portions of the stiingers between and beyond the bolsters are connected by members extending over the bolsters, which are disposed in the space otherwise yoccupied by the supporting members at a position intermediate the side sills and with their respective top surfaces coincident with that of the car oor.

The foregoing and other and more specic objects of the invention are attained by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. l is a sectional plan view of a portion of a railway box car equipped with the understructure comprising this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the portion of the car illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of a portion of the car body understructure;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the floor structure taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail plan view to larger scale of the central portion of the structure adjacent the end of the car;

Fig. 6 is a central longitudinal sectional view through the understructure, taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. l, showing one of the connecting members over the bolster between stringers;

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 3 through one of the Stringer connecting members;

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional View taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5 through the end sill, and showing the longitudinal Stringer members at the end `of the car;

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line ice 9-9 of Fig. 3, showing the floor supporting members in relation to the floor boards and fastening members and indicating one of the cross bearers;

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional View through the car taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 1 illustrating the bolster and car body understructure;

Fig. 1l is a fragmentary perspective view of the oor boards mounted in the supporting members to be secured by the bent fastening members;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary plan view of a floor supporting member and adjacent floor boards showing the fastener in place, engaging the boards through the member, and indicating the bent fastener before straightening in broken lines;

Fig. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view through the oor structure taken on the line 13-13 of Fig. 3 in the area of the bolster, showing welded strap members for holding down the floor boards;

Fig. 14 is a transverse sectional view through the car taken on the line 14-14 -of Fig. 2 illustrating a crossbearer member of the understructure; and

Fig. l5 is a top plan View of a oor supporting member forming the top chord of the crossbearer structure shown in Fig. 14.

In the art of railway freight car construction heretofore, it has been the practice to erect a car, including an underframe structure, and apply a wooden floor in the car supported on the various members of the underframe. Such type of construction subjected the allwooden floor to the full abuse yof the various types of service to which freight cars are put, and resulted in excessive wear from the rough mechanical treatment encountered and culminated in unduly short life of the oor. ln freight service, the types of materials loaded in a car, and the manner of securing some items directly to the floor, resulted in splintering of the oor boards from the fastening means employed and severe abrasion from some loaded materials and the loading equipment used. Allwooden floors frequently are subject to breakage under the concentrated wheel loads of loading truck equipment used in moving materials into the cars.

The present invention proposes an understructure wherein the floor is made an integrated part of the car body underframe and incorporating portions of the metallic underframe into the surface of the door whereby to provide metal members in the lloor alternating with wooden oor boards in a manner' to reinforce the floor and relieve the boards of a substantial portion of the abrasion and wear to which they otherwise would be subjected, and prevent the boards from breaking through under the heavy wheel loads of trucking equipment used in the cars.

ln the drawings, the invention is shown as applied to a railway box car 10 having side walls 11 and 12 and corrugated end walls 13. A center sill 14 extends continuously full length of the car and transverse bolsters 15 are disposed upon the sill -in a manner to support vertical loads and to transmit longitudinal draft and buing loads into the car. Side sills 16 extend full length of the car and are supplemented by sub-sills 17 in the central area of the car beneath the doorways 1S and are connected at the ends of the car by end sills 19. Door posts 2t), corner posts 21, and intermediate posts 22 form the side wall framing and to which the wooden inside lining 23 is secured through the medium of wooden nailing strips bolted to the respective posts in the usual manner.

The various cross members of the underframe extend continuously across the car between the side sills 16, and in addition to the bolsters 15, include cross bearers 24 disposed at intervals across the car between the bolsters, as best shown in Figs. 2, 4, 14 and l5, and which are supplemented by the various floor supporting members 25. Throughout the major portion of the car these oor supporting members' extend continuously between and are secured to the side sills 16, preferably by welding 26, to the vertical ange portion of the side sill angle, all as bestA indicated in Fig. 14. Thefloor supporting memb ers each comprise an inverted flanged channel section which may be referred Vto as a hat section. These hat sections, extending preferably transversely of the car, each include a top Iweb portion 27,` depending or vvertical connecting walls 2S, and outwardly directed hori zontal bottom flanges 2,9. The hat section floor supporting members 25 are disposed alternately with wooden ilodr boards 30 which are supported upon the bottom flanges 29 of adjacentsections between the vertical walls 28 which areA spaced apart the width of the boards. As shown, the surface of the door boards is disposed flush with the top surface of the web portions 27 of the metal hat sections to provide a' level uninterrupted iloor surface throughout the car. The iloor boards, as best shown in Figs. 3' and l0, are of a length to lit within the dimensidn between the inside lining walls 23 for easy application and replacement, and are supplemented by filler blocks 60 at the side walls and extending beneath the side lining to close the floor surface to the upstanding side sill flange.

At the positions of the crossbearers 24, a hat section '25 is integrated with the respective crossbearer assemblies to form the top chord of the structure. As shown 1n Figs. 9, 14 and l5, it will be seen that the crossbearer is comprised of a vertical web plate 31 at each side of the center sill 14 welded edgewise to the underside of the web portion 27 of the hat section member, which, extending1 continuously across the center sill between the side sills, thus becomes a structural part of the crossbearery to form the top chord thereof. An inner vertical plate 32 to which the web plate 31 is welded edgewise and which also is welded edgewise to the underside of the hat section web 27, forms lthe inner edge structure of the web portion at each side of the center sill, and at the outer edge the crossbearer is provided with a Z-shaped gusset 33 to which the weh plate portion is welded edgewi'se and which itself is similarly welded to the underside of the hat section web 27, with the web of the Z-member secured to the underside of the horizontal ilan'ge of the side sill angle 16, and the depending ange of the Z secured to the subside sill 17. A bottom plate 34 to which the web portion 31 is also edge welded extends inwardly from the side sill gusset 33. The crossbearer structure is continuous beneath the center sill 14 as well as across the top thereof. As best shown in Fig. 14, an I section 35 extends beneath the center sill to form a bottom connection between the crossbearer web plates 31 at opposite sides of the sill. The web plates are edge welded to the top surface of the upper flange of the I section which extends continuously on a horizontal plane between the bottom edge plates 34. The respective bottom plates 34 extend continuously between the side sill gusset 33 and the bottom ange of the I section to which it is secured by a welded joint 36 whereby to provide a bottom flange on the cross bearer continuous between the side sills at opposite sides of the car. A reinforcing plate 37 extends from beneath the bottom flange of the I section across the joint 36 beneath the bottom edge plate 34 beyond the top dange of the I section. The cross bearer structures 24 are disposed at intervals across the car between the holsters 15.

The holsters 1S are each comprised of pairs of spaced vertical web plates 38 at each side of the center sill connected by a bottom cover plate 39 extending continuously beneath the center sill and by flanged top cover plates 40 supplemented by top gusset plate 41 extending across the center sill, and the entire assembly integrated by welding. The bolster structure is reinforced by gusset plates 42 and 43, and an end closure plate 44 covers the end of the bolster at each side Sill position. As disclosed, the bolsters are adapted to support the car body by means of cushions 45, best shown in Fig. 10, which are disposed 4 at opposite ends of respective holsters for engagement beneath the side sills 16, and to accommodate these elements, the holsters are offset downwardly at their ends adjacent the side sill positions and these offset portions are covered by means of pressed angle plates 46.

Longitudinal Stringer members 48 extend continuously between the holsters 15 and therebeyond to the end sills 19 in supporting relation beneath the floor members 25 at respectively opposite sides of the center sill. These Stringer members, as shown, are of channel section and are provided with bent plate guide' brackets 49 for the center sill, which are welded within the channel section at the positions of the crossbearers 24 and end sills 19. At the end sill, those brackets are backed up by reinforcing gusset plates 47 welded in position behind the channel stringers. The channel section stringers are secured to the crossbearers 24, end sills 19 and all of the floor members 25 by welding, but do not extend through the bolster areas and are connected at opposite sides of the respee tive holsters by strongly rigidiiied inverted flanged channel structures extending across the holsters to provide a continuous longitudinal,reinforcing Stringer' structure 50 for the floor members full length of the undertrarne. This inverted yflanged `channel section, as best shown in Figs.

l, 3, 6, 7 and l0, extends longitudinally over the top of each bolster, and the outwardly extending flanges 51 are welded to the top il'anges of the yrespective channel section stringere 4S at each side of the bolster, thereby to provide integrated continuous members. The web portion of this inverted channel section is reinforced by angle section plates 52 welded beneath the web portion and between the flanges thereof, and which are spaced apart longitudinally to correspond with the dimensions of the hat section metal iloo'r members 25 at respectively opposite sides of the member 5) and with which the angle plates are aligned to' provide a substantially continuous Hoor reinforcement full width of the car in this area. The hat sections 25"', like the members 25, are secured to the side sills 16 but are not full length across the car and are supported uponvthe bottom flanges 51 of the member 50 and` to which they arejsecured hy welding. This construction in the areas of the holsters aords strongly reinforced oor structures over these members.

v Iherc'on'st'r'uction described affords a strongly reinforced floory "structure over the entire area of the car interior, with theV wooden iloor boards 30 alternating with the metal hat sections throughout the length of the car. The design of the floor vstructure is such that the usual floor clips may be utilized to secure the wooden boards to the metal framing members if desired by disposing such clips between the outstanding flanges 29 of the hat sections to engage the anges of the underframe members in the usual manner, but fastening' devices for the boards are provided that ohviate the need' for such clips. In the b'olstei'aras Ithe floor 'boards 30 are 'secured between the hat section members 425' by means of clamping plates 53, as besft'tsh'own' in Figs. l, 3, l0 and 13. The plates are disposed flush with the surfaces of the hat sections and iioo'r boards and are welded to the hat sections securely to fasten the. boards in place, which are grooved across their top Surface to accommodate the plates flush with the surface of the boards and hat sections. The oor boardsy 30 extend only between the ilanged channel structure 50 at :th'e 'center 'and respectively adjacent side sills 16. At the cross-bearers 24 the iloor boards 3'0" are secured bymeaus vvof bolts 54 which are entered through the boards fromfthl'eV top land pass through the outstanding flanges 25 of 'the' hat section forming the top chord of the crossbearers and those of the next adjacent hat sections, and fastened by threaded nuts at the under side. At the 'end sill 19, 'the last board 30 is also secured in place by means of bolts 54 (see Fig. 5).

Elsewhere -in the {floorwstructure the boards 30 are secured to ,therhat-sections 2S `by-me'ans of the bent fasteners v55, best illustrated in Figs. ll and l2. 4Each' of 'the fasteners has its ends flattened to provide a section or bar between the attened ends and one of the flattened ends forms a projection on one end of the section having a greater width than said one end of the section, and the other of the flattened ends forms a projection on the other end of the section having a greater width than said other end of the section. As shown, the hat sections are each provided with aligned slotted openings 56 through the opposite side wall portions 28 at spaced apart locations upon opposite sides of' the car center sill i4, and the head portions 57 of each fastener are entered through these opposed slots to penetrate and secure the floor boards upon opposite sides of each hat section. The door boards are provided with a substantially V-shaped groove 53 in each side edge which, when the boards rest upon the flanges 29 of the hat sections, are aligned with the slots 56 in the side walls of the hat sections so that when the fasteners 55 are disposed in the hollow underside of the hat sections and entered through the slots 56, the head portions 57 will engage the adjacent groove 58 of respective boards at opposite sides of the hat sections. The fasteners 55, in bent form, are entered in the slots 56 with the grooved boards in place, as shown in Fig. 11. The bent fasteners are then engaged by a suitable tool to straighten them, as shown in Fig. l2, whereupon the fastener penetrates the wooden boards at opposite sides of respective hat sections securely to wedge-lock the boards between the hat sections, and supported upon the outstanding flanges 29. This straightening operation may be performed very simply by striking the bent fastener with a hammer while positioned in the slots 56, so that the heads 57 in eect are driven into the wooden floor boards. As best illustrated in Fig. 9, the head portions 57 of the fasteners are provided with a sloping surface 59 on their underside which is adapted to engage the lower side of the V-shaped groove in the adjacent edge of respectively associated boards when the fasteners are entered through the slots 56, and when the fasteners are driven to their final position of securement ride up these sloping bottom sides of the grooves, and with the plane top surfaces of the fastener engaged by the top edge of the slots 56 to prevent upward displacement of the fastener, the boards are wedged downwardly to be held tightly on the supporting flanges 29 and securely locked in position between the hat sections.

The invention has been disclosed as applied to a car having the body cushionedly supported upon the bolster suuctures, but is equally applicable to car structures wherein the body may be rigidly supported upon and integrated with the bolsters and center sill. The principal features of the invention may be utilized in railway box cars and in other types of freight cars.

What is claimed is:

1. A railway car floor comprising inverted metal channel members extending substantially entirely across the car alternating with boards between the channel members, each channel member having a pair of perforate side wall portions and outstanding lower anges supporting said boards, and fasteners securing said boards to the channel members, each fastener comprising a metal member extending between and projecting through said perforate side wall portions of its respective channel member into the adjacent edges of opposing boards.

2. In a railway car door comprising boards reinforced by metal plate means having upper and lower plate surfaces, a pair of vertical side wall portions connecting an upper plate surface and a pair of lower plate surfaces, each of said upper plate surfaces being disposed substantially at the general level of said boards and alternating therewith, said lower plate surfaces being disposed beneath said boards to provide support therefor, and

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deformable metal fasteners each securing a pair of said boards to the reinforcing metal plate means, each fastener extending between and throagh and having its ends projecting beyond the side wall portions of said pair of side wall portions into the two boards adjacent to said side wall portions.

3. A railway car door comprising metal members each having a pair of spaced opposed side walls and each pair of side walls having opposed horizontally extending slots and a horizontal ftange along each side wall of each metal member, boards alternating with the metal members, and fastening members securing the boards to the metal members, each fastening member extending through the slots in the two side walls of the respective metal member and having its ends projecting beyond said side walls into the adjacent boards with the fastening member in engagement with the upper horizontal walls of the slots urging the boards downwardly against the flanges on the metal member.

4. A railway car floor comprising inverted metal channel members extending substantially entirely across the car alternating with wooden boards between the channel members, each channel member having a pair of spaced perforate side wall portions and said wooden boards having grooved edges in opposed relation to said perforate side walls, and metal fasteners securing the boards to the channel members, each fastener extending between and projecting through the perforate side walls of the respective channel member and having opposite end portions projecting into said grooved edges of opposing boards.

5. A railway car floor comprising inverted metal channel members extending substantially entirely across the car having outstanding bottom supporting flanges, said members alternating with wooden boards positioned between the channel members and supported on said flanges, each channel member having a pair of spaced perforate side wall portions and said wooden boards hav ing grooved edges in opposed relation to said perforate side wall portions, and horizontal deformable metal fasteners securing the boards to the channel members, each fastener extending between the perforate side wall portions of the respective channel member and having end portions projecting through said perforate portions into said grooved edges of opposing boards, the lower faces of the end portions being inclined with respect to a horizontal plane passing through the fastener and in wedging engagement with a groove surface urging the floor boards downwardly against said outstanding channel member flanges.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,237,344 Klein Aug. 21, 1917 1,558,216 Bachmann Oct. 20, 1925 1,884,372 Symington Oct. 25, 1932 1,969,844 Heath Aug. 14, 1934 1,983,410 Shryoclt Dec. 4, 1934 2,052,213 Branstrator Aug. 25, 1936 2,056,137 Iodine Sept. 29, 1936 2,084,161 Moss .lune 15, 1937 2,150,417 Campbell Mar. 14, 1939 2,197,443 Wine Apr. 16, 1940 2,321,547 Gilpin .lune 8, 1943 2,328,867 Veteran Sept. 7, 1943 2,337,278 Schmitz Dec. 21, 1943 2,366,709 Dean Ian. 9, 1945 OTHER REFERENCES Railway Age, September 16, 1950, pp. 61-62. 

